System and method of employing indicia on web material and web material using same

ABSTRACT

A donor web for use in a thermal transfer printer comprises a foil having a transfer side and a non-transfer side. A layer of thermal transfer material is disposed on the transfer side of the foil material. Indicia is ink-jetted to the foil. The indicia includes information pertaining to at least one of the length of used foil and the length of unused foil so that an operator can determine whether there is enough foil left for a printing operation. Preferably, the indicia is disposed on the non-transfer side and at a longitudinal edge portion of the foil in order to not affect or otherwise damage the printing portion of the foil. Also, the indicia is preferably white or black ink in order to be clearly visible against various colors of the thermal transfer material. The indicia can also be disposed on a receiver web.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/458,462, filed on Mar. 28, 2003, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to web material used in an apparatus forgenerating an image and, more particularly, to web material havingindicia disposed thereon.

2. Background Art

Conventional thermal transfer apparatus for generating an image or agraphic product includes a mechanism for advancing receiver webmaterial, also referred to as sheet or strip material, that will have animage generated thereon, and a mechanism for bringing a thermalprinthead in contact with the sheet material such that a donor webmaterial is interposed between the sheet material and the thermalprinthead. Conventional donor web material, also referred to as foil orfoil material, includes a dear foil with dry transferable film appliedto one side thereof. The foil material is typically rolled onto a supplyroll and is displaced in foil housing. During a work operation togenerate an image, the foil material is pulled from the supply roll ontoa take-up roll and the dry transferable film from the foil material isselectively transferred from the foil onto the sheet material through athermal printing process to generate an image on the sheet material.

The foil material is typically available in numerous colors to generatemulticolored images. Each work operation usually requires apredetermined length of foil material of each color. A machine operatoris typically required to estimate, by visually observing the supplyroll, whether sufficient length of material remains on the supply rollto generate the desired image.

Other methods of determining the length of foil material remaining onthe supply roll include estimation aides that allow the operator to makea more educated guess. One such estimation aide is a window formed on anend plug of the supply roll to allow the operator to view the diameterof the remaining foil material. Another estimation aide includeslabeling lines formed on the end plug of the supply roll for theoperator to estimate remaining length of such foil material based on thelabeling lines. However, both of these methods still require estimation.Such estimations are fairly unreliable since the foil is extremely thin,thereby leaving much room for error.

Another method of determining length remaining on the supply roll of thefoil material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,887 assigned to GerberScientific Products, Inc., a common assignee with the presentapplication. The disclosure teaches a mechanical gauge disposed withinthe foil housing to indicate remaining length of the foil. However, suchdevice is relatively expensive to implement and occasionally may besubject to mechanical malfunction.

Although there are several approaches for determining length remainingor used of sheet material, these approaches cannot be easily adapted tothe foil material for multiple reasons. The length determining schemesfor sheet material are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,708,901, and4,768,410 assigned to Gerber Scientific Products, Inc., a commonassignee with the present application. The '901 and '410 patentsdisclose a sheet material with code, readable by sensors/computers, toindicate remaining length of the sheet material. However, the foilmaterial is different from and much more sensitive than the sheetmaterial. For example, the foil includes a slippery surface on thenon-resin side thereof to ensure that the foil does not adhere to thethermal printhead to avoid any potential damage to the printhead.Therefore, it would not be a simple task to either print or adhere anymatter to such slippery surface. Additionally, the foil itself isextremely thin. Thus, if any matter is placed onto the foil, such as alabel or heavy ink, it may interfere with the balance and subsequentlywith the printing process, resulting in potential wrinkling of the foil.Even slight difference in thickness may interfere with the thermaltransfer process, resulting in poor quality of the final product.Moreover, interference with the printing area of the foil is also notacceptable. The printing area of the foil must remain free to allowproper printing of the image. Furthermore, since the foil is relativelyfragile, it is desirable to minimize handling of the foil.

Additionally, another drawback of existing web material, having aparticular code readable by one type of sensor, is that the web materialcan be used only in one type of apparatus. Thus, the web material havinga specific code may not be placed in more than one type of equipment. Afurther drawback is that the web material must be first loaded into theequipment to determine any information: regarding the material.

Thus, it is desirable to simplify process of determining lengthremaining on the web material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a donor web foruse in a thermal printer comprises a foil having a transfer side and anon-transfer side. A layer of thermal transfer material is disposed onthe transfer side of the foil material. Indicia is ink-jetted to thefoil. The indicia includes information pertaining to at least one of thelength of used foil and the length of unused foil so that an operatorcan determine whether there is enough foil left for a printingoperation. Preferably, the indicia is disposed on the non-transfer sideand at a longitudinal edge portion of the foil in order to not affect orotherwise damage the printing portion of the foil. Also, the indicia ispreferably white or black in order to be clearly visible against variouscolors of the thermal transfer material.

In a second aspect of the present invention, a method of applyingindicia on a donor web comprises providing a foil having a transfer sideand a non-transfer side. The transfer side includes a layer of thermaltransfer material disposed thereon. Indicia is deposited onto the foilduring a spooling operation. The indicia includes information about thefoil such as, for example, the length of used foil or the length ofunused foil. Preferably, the indicia is deposited onto the non-transferside and at a longitudinal edge of the foil. The indicia is deposited atspaced intervals from each other along a length of the foil. Thedepositing is preferably accomplished by spraying ink such as, forexample, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) type ink onto the foil. For bestresults, white or black ink is used in order to be visible againstvarious colors of the thermal transfer material.

In a third aspect of the present invention, a system for applyingindicia onto a donor web comprises a slitter apparatus for advancing andcutting a donor web into predetermined widths and advancing the donorweb onto supply rolls. The donor web includes a foil having a transferside carrying a layer of thermal transfer material, and a non-transferside. At least one inkjet head is for applying indicia onto alongitudinal edge portion of the foil of the donor web at spacedintervals along a length thereof as the web is advanced onto supplyrolls. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes a first inkjet forapplying white ink and a second inkjet for applying black ink.Preferably, at least one dryer is disposed downstream of the inkjetheads in a direction of donor web advancement along the slitterapparatus for drying ink applied to the foil of the donor web.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, a donor web cassette for athermal transfer printer comprises a housing including a supply roll anda take-up roll. A donor web is accommodated by the housing and iscoupled to the supply roll and the take-up roll. The housing defines anopening between the supply roll and the take-up roll to expose forviewing a portion of the donor web within the opening. Indicia isink-jetted to the donor web. The indicia includes information of atleast one of a length of used donor web and a length of unused donorweb. In a preferred embodiment, the donor web includes a foil having atransfer side and a non-transfer side, wherein a layer of thermaltransfer material is disposed on the transfer side of the foil material,and wherein the indicia is ink-jetted to and spaced from one anotheralong a length of the foil. Preferably, the indicia is disposed on thenon-transfer side and at a longitudinal edge portion of the foil inorder to not affect or otherwise damage the printing portion of thefoil. For best results, a color of the indicia is either white or blackin order to be visible against various colors of the thermal transfermaterial.

In a fifth aspect of the present invention, a web for use in a thermalprinter comprises a sheet material, and indicia ink-jetted to the sheetmaterial. The indicia includes information of at least one of a lengthof used sheet material and a length of unused sheet material. The sheetmaterial is either a donor web or a receiver web.

The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention become moreapparent in light of the following detailed description of the exemplaryembodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, side elevational view schematically showing aprinting apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a receiver web with indiciathereon in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of donor web material disposed in acassette having indicia ink-jetted thereon; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a system for generating indiciaon web material in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus 10 for generating an image on areceiver web or strip material 12 comprises a top portion 14 and abottom portion 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the strip material 12 haslongitudinal edges 18. The top portion 14 includes a mechanism such as,for example, a pinch roller 20 for advancing the strip material 12. Thetop portion 14 further includes a printhead 22 and a device, such as acassette 24, for accommodating a donor web 26 interposed between theprinthead and the receiver web 12. The bottom portion 16 includes astationary or roller platen 28, a friction wheel 30 driven by a motordrive 31, and can optionally include sensors 32, 34 for tracking thelongitudinal edges 18 of the strip material 12. Moreover, the bottomportion 16 can include a detector 36, such as an encoder, for trackingan actual longitudinal position of the strip material 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, the cassette 24 includes a supply roll 38 and atake-up roll 40. The supply roll 38 and the take-up roll 40 each includea core 42 having a donor web 26 wound thereon. The donor web 26 includesa foil having a film or transfer side 46 and a non-film or non-transferside 48. A dry transferable film or thermal transfer material 50 isdisposed on the transfer side 46. The thermal transfer material 50includes a printable work portion disposed between longitudinal edgeportions 52 of the foil.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the foil includes indicia 54on the non-transfer side 48 and at one of the longitudinal edge portions52 thereof. The indicia 54 includes information pertaining to the foil.In one embodiment of the present invention, the indicia 54 indicates alength of the foil remaining on the supply roll 38 for consumptionduring a work operation (i.e., length of unused foil). Alternatively orin addition to the length of unused foil, the indicia 54 can indicate alength of the foil wound on the take-up roll 40 which has already beenconsumed during one or more previous work operations (i.e., length ofused foil). Additionally, the indicia 54 can include informationregarding other attributes of the foil such as, for example, the colorof the thermal transfer material 50.

As an example, the indicia 54 can indicate in either feet, meters, both,as well as subdivisions thereof, the length that remains on the supplyroll 38. The indicia 54 is preferably spaced at predetermined intervalsalong a length of the foil. The spacing between the indicia 54 can beselected depending upon the application and the desired accuracy ofmeasurement. However, the distance between the indicia 54 should besmaller than the distance between the supply roll 38 and the take-uproll 40. Because the typical length between a supply roll and a take-uproll of a cassette is at least 20 cm, the distance between the indicia54 is preferably approximately 10 cm (or 100 mm) or less in order toensure that the indicia is always visible between the supply roll 38 andthe take-up roll 40.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the indicia 54 is ineither white or black ink to ensure that the indicia is dearly visibleagainst various colors of the thermal transfer material 50 in order tobe easily read by an operator, or is otherwise detectable by sensors.However, the indicia 54 can be printed in any color that visiblycontrasts with a color of the thermal transfer material 50 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, theindicia 54 is preferably disposed within one of the longitudinal edgeportions 52 of the foil to ensure that the indicia does not interferewith subsequent image generating process. In a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, the indicia 54 is printed on the non-transferside 46 of the foil.

Referring to FIG. 4, a system 100 for applying the indicia 54 on thedonor web 26, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention,includes a conventional slitter apparatus 102. A typical slitterapparatus used during fabrication of foil on the donor web 26 includes asubsystem for applying film onto the foil (not shown) and rolling thefoil into a roll. The slitter apparatus 102 cuts the donor web 26 intopredetermined widths and then spools the donor web onto supply rolls104, 106 of predetermined length. The system 100 further comprises atleast one inkjet head disposed substantially adjacent to at least one oflongitudinal edge portions 52 of the donor web 26. In a preferredembodiment of the present invention, a first inkjet head 108 and asecond inkjet head 110 are disposed along each of the longitudinal edgeportions 52 of the donor web 26. Preferably, one of the inkjet heads oneach side of the donor web 26 is dedicated to forming indicia byspraying white ink, and the other of the inkjet heads on each side ofthe donor web is dedicated to spraying black ink. However, any color inkthat visibly contrasts with a color of the thermal transfer material canbe selected without departing from the scope of the present invention.The color of the ink to be sprayed is user selectable and is chosenbased on which color ink is determined by the operator to be moreeffectively visible against the various colors of the thermal transfermaterial.

Although any type of continuous ink-jet device can be used, one type ofsystem that is preferred is Video Jet manufactured by Video Jet Systems,Inc. The device includes an encoder for establishing placement of theindicia on the web material. Optionally, a dryer 112 is disposeddownstream of an associated pair of inkjet heads 108, 110 in thedirection of web advancement along the slitter apparatus 102 for dryingthe ink sprayed thereon. Preferably, the dryer 112 is a conventional hotair dryer. Although the inkjet heads 108, 110 and the dryer 112 areshown positioned upstream of the slitter apparatus 102 relative to thedirection of web movement, it should be understood that the inkjet headsand the dryer can be positioned downstream of the slitter apparatuswithout departing from the scope of the present invention.

In operation, once the foil material is fabricated by applying film ontothe foil and rolled into a roll, the roll of the foil material is placedinto the slitter apparatus 102. The slitter apparatus 102 quickly spoolsthe foil material from an original roll 114 onto the supply rolls 104,106 in predetermined lengths while also cutting the foil material intopredetermined widths. During this spooling operation, at least one ofthe inlet heads 108, 110 prints the indicia 54 on an associatedlongitudinal edge portion 52 of the foil at spaced intervals of, forexample, approximately 10 cm, indicating a length remaining on thesupply roll or a length wound on the take-up roll. The indiciapreferably includes characters or numbers, as shown in FIG. 4, which canbe visibly read by an operator. The characters can be oriented as shownor rotated 90 degrees relative to that illustrated in order to minimizethe width of the characters, and thereby ensure that the characters donot interfere with the functional area occupied by the thermal transfermaterial. The dryers 112 can be used to ensure that the sprayed ink forforming the indicia 54 is dried prior to the foil being rolled onto thesupply rolls 104, 106. The necessity for a dryer is determined by theoperating speed of the slitter apparatus 102. For example, in somesituations, the foil material is spooled at 140 meters per minute. Atsuch speeds, it is preferable to use a dryer to ensure that the ink isdry prior to being spooled.

One advantage of the present invention is that the information regardingremaining length of usable foil material is easily visible to anoperator. Additionally, the length remaining information is precise andaccurate and does not require guesswork and estimation. Furthermore, theink-jetted indicia does not require additional hardware within the foilhousing that can be expensive and subject to potential mechanical and/orelectrical failure.

Although applying length remaining indicia onto the foil material by aprocess of ink-jetting has multiple benefits, these are various reasonsagainst applying ink onto the foil. First, the non-film side of the foilusually includes a slip coating such that the slippery surface of thefoil does not adhere to the thermal printhead to avoid potential damageto the printhead. Additionally, the foil is extremely thin andsensitive. Thus, if the balance of the foil is effected even slightly,the foil is subject to wrinkling during work operations. One type of inkthat can effectively be used and is adherable is methyl ethyl ketone(MEK) type ink.

Furthermore, it is critical to ensure that the indicia is printed withinthe longitudinal edge portions for several reasons. First, the thicknessof the ink may interfere with the thermal transfer process. Second, theindicia may interfere with the image itself. However, it is difficult toprint within the longitudinal edge portions, which are withinapproximately 3 mm of the edge during high-speed production withoutdamaging the foil.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the indiciaincludes a machine-readable indicia that is read by indicia readingmeans (not shown) disposed in the system. This embodiment has an addedadvantage of using the foil in existing apparatus that might not includeindicia reading means and also can be used in a newer system that doesinclude indicia reading means, as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the systemincludes indicia reading means, such an optical sensor, magnetic sensor,or bar code sensor, for reading and relaying information regarding thedonor web material.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the receiverweb material 12, as shown in FIG. 2, includes indicia 55 along one ofthe longitudinal edges 18 thereof that is ink-jetted during a spoolingprocess of the receiver web material. The indicia can include lengthremaining data and/or other data regarding the receiver web material.The indicia may be operator readable, such as actual length remaining,and/or machine-readable indicia, as discussed above.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the indicia isapplied during the spooling process, thereby minimizing handling of theweb material. Minimizing of handling of the web material is especiallycritical for donor web material.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described withrespect to a particular embodiment thereof, it should be appreciated bythose of ordinary skill in the art, that various modifications to thisinvention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. For example, although the present invention describesplacing indicia on the non-film side of the foil material, the indiciacan be also placed on the film side of the foil material.

1. A donor web for use in a thermal printer, comprising: a foil having atransfer side and a non-transfer side; a layer of thermal transfermaterial disposed on the transfer side of the foil material; and indiciaink-jetted to the foil, the indicia including information of at leastone of a length of used foil and a length of unused foil.
 2. A donor webaccording to claim 1, wherein the indicia is disposed on thenon-transfer side of the foil.
 3. A donor web according to claim 1,wherein the indicia is disposed on a longitudinal edge portion of thefoil.
 4. A donor web according to claim 1, wherein the indicia is incolor one of white and black so as to be visible against various colorsof the thermal transfer material.
 5. A donor web according to claim 1,wherein the indicia is in a color to visibly contrast with a color ofthe thermal transfer material.
 6. A donor web according to claim 1,wherein the indicia are spaced from one another along a length of thefoil.
 7. A donor web according to claim 1, wherein the indicia arespaced approximately 10 cm from one another along the length of thefoil.
 8. A method of applying indicia on a donor web comprising thesteps of: providing a foil having a transfer side and a non-transferside, the transfer side including a layer of thermal transfer materialdisposed thereon; and depositing indicia onto the foil during a spoolingoperation, the indicia including information about the foil.
 9. A methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the step of depositing includes depositingindicia onto the non-transfer side of the foil.
 10. A method accordingto claim 8, wherein the step of depositing jetting includes depositingindicia onto a longitudinal edge portion of the foil.
 11. A methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the step of depositing jetting includesspraying ink onto the foil.
 12. A method according to claim 8, whereinthe step of depositing includes spraying methyl ethyl ketone type inkonto the foil.
 13. A method according to claim 8, wherein the step ofdepositing includes spraying one of white and black ink onto the foil soas to be visible against various colors of the thermal transfermaterial.
 14. A method according to claim 8, wherein the step ofdepositing includes spraying a color of ink onto the foil to visiblycontrast with a color of the thermal transfer material.
 15. A methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the information about the foil includes atleast one of a length of used foil and a length of unused foil.
 16. Amethod according to claim 8, wherein the step of depositing includesdepositing the indicia at spaced intervals from each other along alength of the foil.
 17. A method according to claim 8, wherein the stepof depositing includes depositing the indicia at spaced intervals ofapproximately 10 cm from each other along a length of the foil.
 18. Asystem for applying indicia onto a donor web, the system comprising: aslitter apparatus for advancing and cutting a donor web intopredetermined widths and advancing the donor web onto supply rolls, thedonor web including a foil having a transfer side carrying a layer ofthermal transfer material, and a non-transfer side; and at least oneinkjet head for applying indicia onto a longitudinal edge portion of thefoil of the donor web at spaced intervals along a length thereof as theweb is advanced onto supply rolls.
 19. A system according to claim 18,wherein the at least one inkjet head includes first and second inkjetheads.
 20. A system according to claim 19, wherein the first inkjet headis for applying white ink, and the second inkjet head is for applyingblack ink.
 21. A system according to claim 19, wherein the first inkjethead is for applying an ink having a first color, and the second inkjethead is for applying an ink having a second color, the first and secondcolors visibly contrasting with a color of the thermal transfermaterial.
 22. A system according to claim 18, further comprising atleast one dryer disposed downstream of the at least one inkjet head in adirection of donor web advancement along the slitter apparatus fordrying ink applied to the foil of the donor web.
 23. A system accordingto claim 22, wherein the dryer includes an air blower.
 24. A donor webcassette for a thermal transfer printer, the cassette comprising: ahousing including a supply roll and a take-up roll; a donor webaccommodated by the housing and coupled to the supply roll and thetake-up roll, the housing defining an opening between the supply rolland the take-up roll to expose for viewing a portion of the donor webwithin the opening; and indicia ink-jetted to the donor web, the indiciaincluding information of at least one of a length of used donor web anda length of unused donor web.
 25. A donor web cassette according toclaim 24, wherein the donor web includes: a foil having a transfer sideand a non-transfer side; a layer of thermal transfer material disposedon the transfer side of the foil material, and wherein the indicia isdisposed on the foil.
 26. A donor web cassette according to claim 25,wherein the indicia is disposed on the non-transfer side of the foil.27. A donor web cassette according to claim 25, wherein the indicia isdisposed on a longitudinal edge portion of the foil.
 28. A donor webaccording to claim 25, wherein the indicia is in color one of white andblack so as to be visible against various colors of the thermal transfermaterial.
 29. A donor web according to claim 25, wherein the indicia isin a color to visibly contrast with a color of the thermal transfermaterial.
 30. A donor web according to claim 25, wherein the indicia arespaced from one another along a length of the foil.
 31. A donor webaccording to claim 25, wherein the indicia are spaced approximately 10cm from one another along a length of the foil.
 32. A web for use in athermal printer, comprising: a sheet material; and indicia ink-jetted tothe sheet material, the indicia including information of at least one ofa length of used sheet material and a length of unused sheet material.33. A web according to claim 32, wherein the sheet material is one of adonor web and a receiver web.